Adjustable evaporator assemblies for air conditioners



P. H. MAKUH July 16, 1963 ADJUSTABLE EVAPORATOR ASSEMBLIES FOR AIR CONDITIONERS Filed May 26, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Poul H. Mokuh BY Zw ATTORNEYS United States Patent M 3,097,507 ADJUSTABLE EVAPORATOR ASSEMBLIES FOR AIR CONDITIONERS Paul H. Makuh, Westlake, Ohio, assignor to Hupp Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Virginia Filed May 26, 1961, Ser. No. 113,006 7 Claims. (Cl. 62-285) This invention relates to air conditioning evaporator assemblies and more particularly to such assemblies which are adjustable in width to permit their accommodation in duct assemblies of varying sizes.

In central air conditioning systems, it is standard practice to install the evaporator assembly in the same duct work as that employed in the heating system. Generally the evaporator assembly comprises a pair of coils arranged in an A form and is installed in the plenum chamber of a hot air furnace. To achieve eflicient operation with such an installation, it is essential that the evaporator coil be positioned to intercept all of the air passing through the plenum chamber which requires that the width of the air conditioner assembly be carefully tailored to the corresponding dimension of the plenum chamber.

The wide variation in the lateral dimensions of the plenum chamber have required either that the evaporator assemblies be custom-built to fit the plenum chamber or that the assemblies be made in a variety of dimensions. Both of these expedients are obviously unsatisfactory and substantially increase the cost of the completed system.

The most effective prior proposal dealing with this problem is disclosed and claimed in U.S. Patent 3,000,193, granted September 19, 1961, for Air Conditioning Evaporators, and owned by applicants assignee.

It is the principal purpose and object of the present invention to provide improved adjustable evaporator assemblies of the general type disclosed in the aforesaid Patent 3,000,193 and having improved means for collecting and disposing of the condensate produced in the operation of the unit.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide novel adjustable air conditioner evaporator assemblies comprising a pair of evaporator coils and means for adjustably spacing the upper and lower ends of the coils and improved means for collecting and disposing of the condensate which is eflective in all adjusted positions of the coils.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide improved adjustable evaporator coil assemblies having improved condensate receiving means and a novel.

disposition of the elements in the evaporator assembly on which condensate forms to assure effective collection and disposition of all of the condensate produced in the evaporator coil and associated components regardless of the spacing or inclination of the two evaporator coil assemblies.

\Additional objects and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an evaporator coil assembly constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the opposite side of the coil assembly;

FIGURE 3 is a simplified semi-diagrammatic side view of the coil assembly shown in itsposition of minimum width;

FIGURE 4 is a transverse section taken along line 4-4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 except that the unit is shown in its position of maximum width; and

FIGURE 6 is a transverse section taken along line 66 of FIGURE 5.

3,097,507 Patented July 16, 1963 Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the evaporator assembly of the present invention comprises a pair of coils 10 and 12 arranged in the form of an A or inverted V. The individual coil assemblies 10 and 12 are of conventional construction and may take any of a number of conventional forms. For purposes of illustration, these coils have been illustrated as having three independent tube circuits, the circuits of the coil 10 being fed by three relatively small flexible metal conduits 14, 16 and 18, and the three tube circuits of the coil assembly 12 being fed by three similar tubes 20, 22 and 24. The return lines from the tube circuits in the coil 12 are connected to a rigid return conduit 26 welded to a short tube 28 in turn rigidly permanently connected with the outlet end of the three tube circuits of the coil 12. The lower end of the conduit 26 is rigidly secured to a return header 30 which extends horizontally across the front of the assembly adjacent the lower end thereof.

The short return header 32 for the tube circuits of the coil assembly 10 is connected through a rigid elbow 34 and a flexible metallic conduit 36 to an adapter 38 brazed to the return header 30 adjacent the outer end of the latter. The expansion valve assembly 40 to which the small supply tubes 14-24 are connected is connected to and supported by a supply conduit 42 which is rigidly mounted by a series of clips 44 on the return header 30. The refrigerant system is completed by an equalizer line 46 connecting the expansion valve 40 to the header 30.

At their upper ends the coil assemblies 10 and 12 are attached by a plurality of screws 48 to a V-shaped sheet metal mounting bracket 50. By appropriate location of the screws 48 on the mounting bracket 50, the upper ends of the coils 10 and 12 can be mounted closely adjacent as shown in FIGURES 1, 3 and 4 or spaced apart a substantial distance as shown in FIGURE 5.

Attached to the lower end of the coil assembly 10 is a rectangular drip pan 52, the attachment being effected by screws 54 which pass through an upwardly projecting flange 56 formed integrally with the drip pan 52. The flange 56 is bent at an appropriate angle to dispose the drip pan 52 horizontally. The dimensions of the drip pan 52 are such that it receives all of the condensate which is produced by operation of the coil assembly 10.

. The drip pan assembly 53 associated with the coil 12 is of L-shaped configuration having one leg 54 extending beneath the coil assembly 12 proper, the connected leg 56 extending across the front of the unit directly beneath the conduits 36, 30, 42, 34 and 36. The leg 54 of the drip pan is provided with an upwardly projecting bent flange 58 attached to the lower end of the coil assembly by screws 59, in the same manner as the drip pan 52.

The interior of the drip pan 52 is connected to the interior of the drip pan leg 56 by a relatively heavy tube 60, one end of which is welded or brazed as at 62 to the inner wall of the drip pan 52. The tube 60 is slidably received in a fitting 64 extending through and brazed to the end wall of the drip pan leg 56. Thus the tube 60 not only provides fluid communication between the two drip pans, but also provides an extensible brace connection which maintains the two drip pans in aligned horizontal relation.

As best shown in FIGURE 2, an expansible brace assembly is provided at the opposite side of the unit. This assembly comprises telescoping arms 66 and 68 welded, respectively, to the drip pan sections 54 and 52, the brace member 66 being provided with a slot 70 through which a bolt 72 extends to lock the brace members in adjusted position.

The minimum and maximum spacing of the units are shown respectively in FIGURES 3 and 5. Minimum spacing is achieved by moving the tops of the coil units 10 and 12 together and securing them to the bracket 3 plate 50 in this position. The tube 69 requires no adjustment because of the telescoping connection between the tube and the fitting 64. The rear brace members are locked together with the bolt 72 to hold the assembly securely in adjusted position. If desired, the projecting portions of the bracket 50 may be cut off along lines flush with the outer surface of the coil units. In an actual installation the entire assembly is tilted slightly to dispose the condensate drain conduit 74 at the lowest point in the system. In operation the condensation ilows downwardly along the coil unit 10 and drips directly into the pan 52, the condensation from the conduits 34, 36, 26 and 30 drains directly into the drip pan leg 56 and the condensation from coil 12 flows downwardly along the coil into the drip pan leg 54. Excess condensation accumulated in the drip pan 52 flows through the tube 60 (for eventual disposition through the outlet conduit 74.

It is a feature of the invention that the same condensation recovery pattern is established when the unit occupies its position of maximum spacing as shown in FIG- URE 5. Since the conduit 30 and all of the parts supported thereby remain directly over the drip pan leg 56, this drip pan leg continues to function as a receiver for all of the condensation produced on these elements. It will be noted that even in the position of FIGURE 5, the pitch of the flexible conduit 36 is such that condensation flows down this conduit onto the horizontal conduit 30 and into the drip pan leg 56.

It will be noted that since the angle between the two coil assemblies is unchanged as their spacing is varied, the need for hinged joints is entirely eliminated which further simplifies the assembly and reduces its initial cost.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the abovestated objects and advantages have been attained by the provision of an evaporator assembly, the dimensions of which can be easily tailored to requirements of a particular installation at the time of making the installation and in all adjusted positions effective condensation disposal systems are provided.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

l. A heat exchanger comprising a pair of coils arranged in A form with the upper ends of said coils closer together than their lower ends, mounting means connecting the upper ends of said coils, said mounting means being adapted to support said coils in a plurality of different selected spaced apart positions, a pair of drip pans carried by the lower ends of said coils, a pair of extensible brace means connecting said drip pans, one of said brace means including a fluid conduit connecting the interior of one drip pan to the interior of the other drip pan.

2. A heat exchanger comprising a pair of spaced coil assemblies arranged in A form, means connecting the upper ends of said coil assemblies and permitting the adjustable spacing of the lower ends of the coil assemblies from each other, a pair of drip pans mounted, respectively, on the lower ends of each of said coil assemblies, a pair of extensible brace means connecting said drip pans,

one of said brace means including a fluid conduit connecting the interior of one drip pan to the interior of the other drip pan.

3. The assembly according to claim 2 wherein said fluid conduit comprises a tube rigid with one of said drip pans and slidably received in a fitting in the other of said drip pans.

4. The heat exchanger assembly comprising a pair of spaced coil assemblies arranged in A form, means connecting the upper ends of said coil assemblies and permitting the adjustable spacing of the lower ends of said coil assemblies from each other, a first drip pan carried by the lower end of one of said coil assemblies and extending across the lower end thereof, a second drip pan carried by the lower end of the other of said coil assemblies, said second drip pan being of L-shaped form and having one leg extending across the space between said coil assem blies and another leg extending along the bottom of said other coil assembly, extensible brace means connecting said first and second drip pans, said brace means including a fluid conduit connecting the interior of said first drip pan to the interior of said one leg of said second drip pan.

5. The'assembly according to claim 4 wherein said conduit comprises the tube rigid with said first drip pan and slidably received in a fitting in said second drip pan.

6. A heat exchanger comprising a pair of spaced coil assemblies arranged in A form, means connecting the up per ends of said coil assemblies and permitting the adjustable spacing of the lower ends of said coil assemblies from each other, refrigerant conduit assemblies for delivering refrigerant to and receiving refrigerant from each of said coils, said conduit assemblies being supported on said coil assemblies and being positioned in an area between said coil assemblies at one side thereof, a first drip pan secured to the lower end of one of said coil assemblies and an L-shaped drip pan secured to the other of said coil assemblies, said L-shaped drip pan having one leg extending beneath said coil assembly and another leg extend ing beneath said conduit assemblies, and extensible brace means connecting the lower ends of said drip pans to maintain the lower ends of said coils in a predetermined spacmg.

7. A refrigerant evaporator assembly comprising a pair of spaced coil assemblies arranged in A form; a V-shaped plate connecting the upper ends of said coil assemblies and permitting the adjustable spacing of said coil assemblies from each other; refrigerant conduit assemblies for delivering refrigerant to and receiving refrigerant from each of said coil assemblies, said conduit assemblies being supported on said coil assemblies and being positioned in an area between said coil assemblies at one side thereof; a first drip pan secured to the lower end of one of said coil assemblies extending across the lower end of said one of said coil assemblies; an L-shaped drip pan secured to the lower end of the other of said coil assemblies, said L-shaped drip pan having one leg extending beneath the lower end of said other coil assembly and another leg extending beneath saidconduit assemblies and between the lower ends of said coil assemblies; and extensible brace means connecting the lower ends of said drip pans to maintain the lower ends of said coils in predetermined spacing; said brace means including a fluid conduit connecting the interior of said first drip pan to the interior of said other leg of said L-shaped drip pan.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,000,193 Crider Sept. 19, 1961 

1. A HEAT EXCHANGER COMPRISING A PAIR OF COILS ARRANGED IN A FORM WITH THE UPPER ENDS OF SAID COILS CLOSER TOGETHER THAN THEIR LOWER ENDS, MOUNTING MEANS CONNECTING THE UPPER ENDS OF SAID COILS, SAID MOUNTING MEANS BEING ADAPTED TO SUPPORT SAID COILS IN A PLURALITY OF DIFFERENT SELECTED SPACED APART POSITIONS, A PAIR OF DRIP PANS CARRIED BY THE LOWER ENDS OF SAID COILS, A PAIR OF EXTENSIBLE BRACE MEANS CONNECTING SAID DRIP PANS, ONE OF SAID BRACE MEANS INCLUDING A FLUID CONDUIT CONNECTING THE INTERIOR OF ONE DRIP PAN TO THE INTERIOR OF THE OTHER DRIP PAN. 